If you went to the doctor and reported having insomnia, chances are good you’d walk out with a prescription for sleeping pills.

Or if you mentioned feeling depressed, you may get an antidepressant.

If you complained about indigestion, acid reducers may be in your future.

But there is a common underlying cause for all of these health issues (and many more) that NONE of the prescription drugs in the world can touch—and in many cases they make things worse.

Hormonal imbalances!

Here’s why hormones can make or break you in terms of health.

The ultimate power

When most people hear the word hormones, images of menopausal women with hot flashes come to mind.

But that’s just a drop in the hormone bucket!

There have been over 200 hormones identified so far, and they control pretty much ALL of your body’s processes. For example:

• Hormones trigger your digestive organs to secrete enzymes.

• Your metabolism is active because your thyroid is cranking out hormones that affect every single cell in your body.

• And your thyroid is working because your pituitary secreted hormones telling it to get moving!

• Your ability to deal with an emergency depends on stress hormones secreted by your adrenal glands.

• If you do not suffer from diabetes that’s because your pancreas is secreting adequate insulin.

• And if you sleep soundly at night your pineal gland is ensuring you have enough melatonin.

Why are people’s hormones so screwed up?

Now more than any other time in our existence, people are suffering from hormonal imbalances, and at younger ages too. Instead of affecting people in their 50s and 60s we’re now seeing them in our 20s and 30s.

There are many factors that can cause hormonal imbalances and they include:

• Chemicals like BPAs, BHC, PCBs, etc. that are abundant in our environment

• Hormones injected into the animals raised for our food supply, which in turn make their way into your body

• Low-fat diets because your body needs fats to make hormones

• Prescription drugs—especially antibiotics, birth control pills and statins

• Liver malfunction—because the liver is responsible for clearing old worn-out hormones from your body, as well as manufacturing cholesterol to make your reproductive hormones

But the two most prevalent causes of hormonal problems today are…

Lacking nutrients and stress!

Here’s the scoop:

1- Lacking nutrients

Just like virtually every other function in your body, its ability to produce health-supporting levels of hormones requires the proper nutrients!

And when it comes to hormones, the two nutrients that are most crucial are healthy fats and vitamin D.

What compounds this issue is that these also happen to be two of the most common deficiencies, so its no wonder that our hormones are completely out of whack! 

Healthy fats

As I mentioned above, our low-fat diet craze has created untold numbers of hormone deficiencies. 

But it’s important to get the RIGHT fats—specifically, healthy sources of saturated fats and omega-3 fats.

Good sources of saturated fats include coconut oil, avocados, butter (preferably grass-fed), eggs and lean meats.

The best source of omega-3 fats is wild-caught salmon, but since that’s not something the average person eats several times a week, supplementing with a fish oil formula like VitalMega-3 can help ensure your body has what it needs.

On the flip side, avoid sources of omega-6 fats because not only are they virtually useless when it comes to hormone production, but they also stir up inflammation which compromises ALL of your body’s processes and makes you a welcome home for disease to come knocking.

The most prevalent sources of omega-6 fats are processed foods. Also vegetable oils including safflower, sunflower, corn, cottonseed, canola, and soybean.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is different from other vitamins because it’s not really a vitamin in the typical sense — it’s actually a hormonal precursor. 

Vitamin D is used by your body to make calcitriol, a potent hormone capable of signaling over 1,000 different genes to express or suppress themselves, including genes that affect endocrine function and hormonal balance.

Plus vitamin D’s natural anti-inflammatory actions help promote better functioning of all your body’s processes.

In addition to spending 20-30 minutes in the sun (without protection) several times a week, a reliable way to ensure your body has healthful levels of vitamin D is to supplement with a quality product like our Optimum DK Formula with FruiteX-B.

2- Stress—the pregnenolone “hog”

The hormone pregnenolone is your “molding clay” for all of your hormones, and your body divvies it up as it’s needed to make the various types of hormones.

But your stress hormones trump ALL other hormone types in your body. So when you’re under chronic stress, your adrenals “hog” all of your pregnenolone to make the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol…

Leaving little or none for your other hormonal needs!

If stress is a regular companion for you, it’s time to find ways to chill out. (Keep in mind regular exercise is a great stress reducer and encourages ALL of your systems to function at their best!)

Get help from a counselor or therapist if you need it.

Other ideas

Your doctor can do a complete hormone panel to see where you stand. Since hormones control literally everything about you, a hormone panel should be as basic as a CBC or lipid panel in assessing your health at this point.

If you find you need some hormonal “assistance” consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Your body has a much easier time assimilating bioidentical hormones versus synthetic hormones because they are natural and molecularly identical to hormones created by your body.

Consider an adaptogen herb like ashwagandha. Adaptogen herbs are a unique class of plants that promote hormone balance and protect your body from a wide variety of diseases, including those caused by excess stress. Our very own Ashwa Blend Gummies can be a convenient and tasty way to take advantage of this treasure from Nature.

Also consider acupuncture! Acupuncture can help balance the energy flows within your body and get your hormones back on track.

Get on a path to healthier hormone levels and see what a difference it can make for you!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia